St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-02-13
TABLES TURNED.
Col. Stevens Gives Minneapolis and
Saltwater Spies a Great
Shaking Up,
Alleging That the Chief Detective
Betrayed His Trust for
Filthy Lucre,
And Made Written Agreement to Pro-
duce Pe1jured Testimony When
Wanted.
The Witnesses Procured to Be Drilled So
as to Bring About Convictions Re-
gardless Of Facts,
And Mass Their Evidence Against Sa-
loonkeepers and Guarantee a
Successful Issue.
satfon-- How the wen Indicted
Dictated Terms.

u.
ems is success. If any one doubts it let
him interview William j. Murray, chief of
the National Detective agency at st. Paul
While Ed derives his military title from
the fact that he is a full-fedged brigadier
general in the army of the Patriarchs Mil
liant of Odd Fellows-his command includ-
ing Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Da-
kota-he has shown generalship of no
mean order in other fields ON divers occa-
sions. His latest exploit was while in COM
mand of the allied army of indicted Sab
bath breakers, with headquarters at Mime
apolis, when he not only entrapped the
spies of the enemy into an ambush at Still
water within easy range of Sundry masked
batteries. but undermined Fort Murray,
and, becoming possessed of the plan of cam
paign agreed upon by the enemy, was en-
abled to force truce while the Law and
Order League and its cohorts were flushed
with victory and practically to dictate
terms upon the field of battle.
"A WELL-LAID PLOT"
1t will be remembered that a few days
ago it was stated that the Murray aforesaid
had signed contract for certain secret SER
vices of q questionable nature to be per-
formed at StillWater that it was intimated
that the saloonkeepers were no longer
despondent but sanguine in the belief that
they were masters of the situation: that
even though Imprisonment in the county
Jail had been at least suggested by the court
as the penalty in store, few feared impriS-
Onment; and that in published card in re-
sponse to certain allegations relative to a
''well-laid plot" Gen. Stevens had prom
ised at an early day to "a tale unfold which
ftrlA how
the bottom facts GLOBE emssary was
detailed to apply the pump reportorial to
1.-THE little man in specs" and on making
his errand known, was answered:
$50 you want scoop. Well it is long
story, and I'll interview myself-then | may
be correctly reported. Take a seat.'
The reporter waited while page after
page was written, and this is a copy thereof:
HE INTERVIEWS HIMSELF.
Some time ago few self-appointed guar
dians of the morality of the people, con-
cluded that they could make point by hay3
ing the saloonkeepers of Minneapolis in
dicted for selling liquor on Sunday-not
that they cared much about it, for some of
them are among the saloOnkeepers' best
customers, and two of them silent partners
in an aristocratic saloon, but it would tend
to bring the city and its administration into
apols did not contain the right kind of tai
ent they sought the cooperation of James
j. Smith, formerly license inspector here,
but latterly agent of the citizens league of
St. Paul. Mr.. Smith was willing to aid
them, and, / have no doubt. believed it his
duty to do so; l have ever found him con-
scientlous and have noHght to say against
him. He advised the employment of none
but ''first-class men," and agreed to fur
nish them. He did so through w. J. Muir
ray, the reputed chief of the so-called Ma
tional Detective agency at st. Paula
more ''sickly-looking" lot of men never es-
capped from saltwater, each of them hav-
ing record which will hereinafter more
fully and at large appear. Murray and his
associates came to Minneapolis under a
contract to accomplish desired results and
by sneaking in a side door here and back
door there, succeeded in securing evidence
which, having been duly compared and
corrected to correspond" easily satisfied
grand jury only too anxious to indict that
several additional county jailS were needed.
A CHANGE OF BASE.
Alas, when all ready to indict, and prac-
tically when they had indicted these terri
BILE law breakers, the grand jury discovered
that they had been barking up the wrong
tree. There was no statute making the
sale of liquor on Sunday more heinous than
allowing a man to work in ones Touring
mill, the legislature having given the city
council authority to license and regulate the
liquor traffic, which has been done by ordi-
nance. 1t would not do to back out and be
laughed alto go ahead was out of the
question. Then it was that the quick-wit-
ted county attorney came to the rescue and
found hole to crawl through-the saloon
ho1 OF Loci oil
on Sunday and could be indicted therefor
on the evidence presented. They were so
indicted under the public traffic. section
but it hasn't been explained why spies are
needed to catch man doing a thing pub
licly. The personal property specified was
in one case cigar, in another glass of
beer, and occas .onally whisky and pop had
been sold by the same men. who sold under
various Republican administrations TO
members OF the same grand jury.
DISTURBING RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
Nor was this all. Few people realize the
enormity of the offense. The grand jury
on their oaths not only accused John Doe
'.of the crime of publicly selling property
upon Sunday" and doing it ''wilfullv. un-
lawfully and wrongfully" but defined said
property TO be lone glass OF beer. not then
and there being sold as an article of food
drug. medicine or surgical appliance. con-
trary to the statute in such case made and
provided. and against the peace and dignity
of the state of Minnesota" And before
they could find an indictment they had to
find that the act complained of constituted,
in the language of the statute, "a serious
interruption of the repose and religious lib
erty of the community" The same grand
Jury afterwards learned that it was very
wicked to sell colar-buttons, sardines and
eorn-cob pipes on Sunday. and were forced
10 ndict or take water. They indicted and
among the number of Sabbath breakers
caught in the act was Rev. Nelson Sutton,
a Methodist clergyman, indicted under the
name Norman Sutton. the crime laid at his
door being the sale to one of the stray sheep
of brush with which to seriously inter-
rupt the repose and religious liberty of the
community" by cleansing his teeth. If the
petit Jury confronts those teeth it will
quickly decide the transaction "a work of
necessity"
AFTER THIS. IMPRISONMENT"
The naughty saloonkeepers (who sold
better whisky at 80 cents pint than did
reverend and irreverend dl uggsts at twice
that figure) were duly arraigned before the
court and severally find $40 for their wrong
6oing. being less than it cost the county to
collect the same. Before discharging the
ntfsOners they were reminded of the enor-
nifty of their transgresSion, the judge ad-
monishing them. according to some author
tiles and plainly stating according to others,